Bailing Her Out

"Tongtong? Zhao Xintong?" Zhang Yuanqing almost failed to react. He sorted through his memory, and only then matched the name to the cute, pretty middle-school girl he remembered. "Hold on!" Zhang Yuanqing rose and left the dining room, heading for the courtyard. He sat down at the stone table in the yard and said in a low voice, "There's no one around me now. Talk. What's happened?" Xiao Yuan spoke at once, the words tumbling out rapid-fire: "The day before yesterday, Tongtong got into a fight with a classmate at school. She lost control and pushed the girl down the stairs; the girl's badly hurt. Tongtong knew I wasn't at the hotel, so she went on the run by herself. Her past is a little unusual—if she were brought to the Security Bureau, she'd definitely draw the attention of the official walkers. "But a middle-school girl who can dodge the road cameras and hide without a trace is abnormal in itself, so the official walkers still zeroed in on her. She called me just now and said she was surrounded. The ones arresting her are Star Officials from the Taiyi Sect's Baila Branch. "After the call ended, I had Kou Beiyue reach her from a public phone, but her cell was already off. No—she must have destroyed it herself. She's been caught." Destroying her phone before capture so the official walkers couldn't trace her associates—that was basic competence for an evil class. In other words, the destroyed phone also meant the person had fallen. Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. He understood why Xiao Yuan was so frantic: given the official walkers' style, when they faced an evil class, there was a good chance they simply killed them on sight. Arrest was unlikely. Shoving someone down the stairs over a single disagreement—the girl's temper was far too violent. If the student died because of this, don't expect me to save her; I might not be able to save her anyway. Besides, as a Witch Doctor, Zhao Xintong had any number of ways to get revenge, yet she had to choose the least rational, most violent one. Zhang Yuanqing's head ached. He said, "Why didn't she contact me? She waited until she had nowhere left to turn before trying your number. If you hadn't happened to come back today, she could have died and no one would ever know. No—she may already be dead." He said it, but Zhang Yuanqing knew the answer well enough: the girl hadn't even gone to Kou Beiyue, which meant she was a loner who trusted only Xiao Yuan. Why would she beg help from him, an outsider attached to the official side? "Stop complaining!" Xiao Yuan's voice was thick with feeling, like an anxious wife snapping at her husband. "All right, all right, I'll stop. I'll look into it for you right now. Wait for my word." Zhang Yuanqing soothed her gently. After hanging up, he sat by the stone table and put his mind to work. Baila City bordered the Capital City to the north and the sea to the south. Its economy and culture were highly developed; it was far below Songhai, but still a major city of the north. So the local official walkers were of high quality—and, most importantly, it was too close to the Capital City. It fell within the Taiyi Sect's sphere of influence, and a Day Wanderer was stationed there. Zhao Xintong had run into the Taiyi Sect's Deacons, which made things difficult. If this had been the Five Elements Alliance, then with Yuanshi Tianzun's present status and fame, the branches would have shown him some courtesy. —The Jianghuai Branch would not! After a few seconds' thought, Zhang Yuanqing opened his chat group. This, he reflected, was where Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miaomiao's usefulness came in. He created a temporary chat group and pulled Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang into it. [Yuanshi Tianzun: @Zhao Chenghuang @Sun Miaomiao Are you two familiar with the Taiyi Sect's Baila Branch? A friend of mine has been arrested by Star Officials from the Baila Branch. She's an evil class.] [Sun Miaomiao: You brat, you're still running around with evil classes!] Then, with no principles at all: [Sun Miaomiao: What did she do? If it's murder and arson, we're not helping.] [Yuanshi Tianzun: A middle-school girl. She had a dispute with a classmate and pushed her down the stairs. Supposedly badly injured. I still need the details.] [Zhao Chenghuang: The Taiyi Sect's Baila Branch has two Elders. One is the newly promoted Dominator, the Ghost King of Fengdu. The other is Victoria. She's the top authority, but she also manages affairs across the eight eastern provinces, so she's away from the Baila Branch most of the time.] [Sun Miaomiao: Go to Lingjun. Victoria is Lingjun's sweetheart.] #Sun Miaomiao recalled a message# [Sun Miaomiao: Go to Lingjun. Victoria and Lingjun are like mother and son.] So the whole Taiyi Sect knew that Lingjun's filial devotion had curdled into something else? Well—asking Lingjun really was the fastest, most convenient route. Zhang Yuanqing dialed Lingjun's number on the spot. "Well, well, if it isn't the student of the number one man below the Dominators. To think you still remember your wretched old teacher—I'm honored, truly honored!" Lingjun's lazy chuckle came down the line. "'Wretched old teacher,' I need a favor. Is Elder Victoria there?" "Every fine morning she's at my side, like flowers and dew, like soy milk and fried dough sticks," Lingjun said with a laugh, and then a smacking sound came through the speaker, as if a woman had kissed him. An older partner really was better. First thing in the morning and he gets a smooch. Not like my girlfriend, who does nothing at dawn but fling off the covers. Grumbling inwardly, Zhang Yuanqing said: "A friend of mine has run into trouble in Baila City. Spirit Realm ID Zhao Xintong, a middle-school girl, evil class. She was arrested today by Deacons of the Taiyi Sect's Baila Branch. Look into it for me, and if she's alive, let me know." Lingjun's laughter vanished; his voice dropped, low and serious. "Done." About ten minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing received a message from Lingjun: "She's alive. Held in an interrogation room at the Baila Municipal Security Bureau Headquarters; the Baila Branch hasn't executed her yet. On one hand, they want to use her to find her accomplices—a Level 4 Saint is very unlikely to work alone. On the other, underage evil classes are rare, and hard to handle. Our colleagues at the Baila Branch have a headache over it and are still looking into her background and history." "Understood. I want to get her out. Is there a way?" They were old acquaintances, so Zhang Yuanqing didn't beat around the bush. Lingjun was silent for a moment. "Victoria says she can't give you an answer until the situation is clear. I know the person you want to get out can't be an irredeemable criminal, but you have to understand." "I understand, I understand," Zhang Yuanqing said. "I'll come over first." After hanging up, he sent Xiao Yuan a message: "She's alive, no immediate danger to her life. I'll try to get her out, but I can't promise it'll work." What a pile of trouble. I could enter the Spirit Realm at any moment these days! I hope I can settle this today so it doesn't interfere with my instance run. Wuhen Hotel. In the Wuhen team's small group chat, messages were pouring in, ding-ding-dong-dong. These self-redeeming evil classes could not sit still, arguing with both zeal and pessimism. [Sweet Red Demon: This doesn't make sense. Tongtong had just been through the baptism of the Master's sermon; her state of mind should have been calm. How did something like this happen? What do we do now? Someone think of something, quickly.] [Farewell My Concubine: Master Wuhen deliberately gave his sermon before entering the instance so we'd shed our violent qi and he could do his tasks in the instance in peace. And now Tongtong goes and does this. What are we supposed to do? I'm worried sick!] [General Instructor Lin Chong: Let's just go snatch her. I've checked—the Baila Branch has only one Dominator holding it down. I'll draw the Dominator out, lure the tiger off the mountain, and the rest of you charge in and get Tongtong out.] [Aunt Fang: Don't you think the Baila Branch has Saints? Don't you think they have Dominator-level items holding down the fort? If you want to die, go die by yourself. Don't drag us down with you.] [Uncle Yang: Xiao Lin is too impulsive, but we really do have to think of something. Otherwise Tongtong is as good as dead. She's still a child.] [Kou Beiyue: She might already be dead.] The constantly refreshing messages suddenly stuttered. [Lin Chong: Kou Beiyue, you just wait, you bastard. I'm getting on a plane right now to come beat you, and you can be buried with Tongtong.] [Mortal Vagabond: @Xiao Yuan, have you contacted Yuanshi Tianzun?] The team was briefly stunned; only then did they remember that outsider from Songhai. In their eyes, Yuanshi Tianzun was a fellow sufferer at the world's end, a veteran patient among the mentally ill—but he was orthodox, and so there was some distance in their hearts. And since they had met him only once, and their acquaintance wasn't deep, they hadn't thought of him first when the internal crisis hit. Not like Xiao Yuan and Kou Beiyue, who could call on Yuanshi Tianzun whenever they pleased. Mortal Vagabond, though, had come to identify with Yuanshi Tianzun personally because of their experience in Bagui Province. He saw him as a friend and companion, and so he thought of him instinctively. [Sweet Red Demon: The ones Tongtong ran into are Taiyi Sect Star Officials, and Yuanshi Tianzun belongs to the Five Elements Alliance. Besides, Songhai and Baila are one in the south and one in the north; his connections can't reach that far.] Silence fell over the group again. [Uncle Yang: @Xiao Yuan, contact him. A dead horse is worth treating as a live one.] Xiao Yuan was just about to reply when her phone dinged: a message from Yuanshi Tianzun. She quickly left the small group, tapped open Yuanshi Tianzun's profile, and read the message over several times, carefully. Her taut face finally relaxed, and deep in her heart rose a strong sense of security. Without her noticing, that man had come to give her more and more of that security. [Xiao Yuan: I've already contacted him. Tongtong is alive. Yuanshi Tianzun is on his way to Baila City. He'll do everything he can to save her. Everyone, wait patiently.] The evil classes in the group were still anxious and worried when this message appeared out of nowhere. The good news came too suddenly; for a moment they couldn't take it in. A few seconds later the small group erupted with ding-ding-dong-dong, every voice full of joy and hope—joy that Tongtong was alive, hope that Yuanshi Tianzun, that star-bright figure of the orthodox faction, could bring their companion home. For the first time they tasted the sweetness of having someone up high. Master Wuhen's expansion of his redemption targets to the orthodox faction had been a strategically significant direction. Eleven in the morning. Baila Municipal Security Bureau Headquarters, Interrogation Room No. 3. Zhao Xintong, in her blue-and-white school uniform, sat with a cold face on the icy interrogation chair. A yellow paper talisman was pasted to her forehead, her hands were cuffed to the small table, and her right shoulder sagged uselessly. Two six-centimeter wooden nails had been driven into her shoulder blades on either side, and dark red blood soaked the back of her clothes. The two nails forced her to hold her back straight, maintaining a stiff and laborious posture. The nails, like the yellow talisman, were means of sealing her abilities and restraining her. The nails carried a paralyzing toxin. Once driven into a body, they grew rootlets that rooted themselves in flesh and blood; pulling them out by force would tear flesh and bone away with them. The yellow talisman sealed her spiritual power, reducing it to that of an ordinary person so that she could be interrogated. Otherwise, with a Saint's willpower, no one could get any information out of her without resorting to torture. The Baila Branch had already interrogated Zhao Xintong twice, obtaining her family background, her origins, and how she had become a Spirit Realm walker. But whenever they asked about the force behind her, Zhao Xintong showed a toughness and resolve beyond her years; even under the threat of a Scout-class item, she had not submitted. The official walkers of the Baila Branch did not force the questioning, because while resisting the item, blood had streamed from her seven orifices and her mind had begun to collapse. Minors had privileges at any time, even an evil class. Her superiors had not yet given an answer on what to do with this underage evil class, so her life and safety were a matter the Baila Branch's staff had to take seriously. Then the soundproof door of the interrogation room swung open, and a man wearing a baseball cap, a face mask, and sunglasses walked in, a file in his hand. Zhao Xintong raised her eyes. The girl's dark pupils fixed on him quietly. The interrogator's clothing caught her attention. This was the Security Bureau headquarters, the Taiyi Sect Baila Branch's stronghold; no official walker here would dress like that. The bundled-up man switched off the recorder and sat down at the interrogation table. His voice was low: "I ask, you answer. No idle talk." A cold smile curved across Zhao Xintong's delicate face. "When are you sending me back to the Spirit Realm? Apart from that, you won't get a single piece of information out of me." There was no way she would give up the Wuhen Hotel. The Master was not in the real world; the hotel had no leader, no sufficiently powerful force to shelter it. If the authorities sent experts to surround and wipe out the Wuhen Hotel now, she didn't know how the companions scattered elsewhere would fare—but Aunt Xiao Yuan and that brainless Kou Beiyue, who lived at the hotel, would certainly die. "Tough, aren't you. Why don't you use your head when you do things?" the interrogator muttered under his breath. That voice was very familiar. Zhao Xintong's head snapped up, and she stared straight at him.